Thiruvalluvar statue: Kannada groups boycott CM meet

August 07, 2009 18:35 IST

Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa's last-ditch attempt to ensure the smooth unveiling of Thiruvalluvar's statue in Bengaluru went down the drain with three pro-Kannada groups boycotting a meeting convened by him.

The two factions of the Kannada Rakshana Vedike and the Vatal Paksha, headed by Vatal Nagaraj, boycotted the meeting.

The chief minister had convened a meeting involving pro-Kannada groups in a bid to ensure that the unveiling of the statue went on peacefully. However these groups stuck to their demand, stating that at no cost should the statue be unveiled since it was against the state.

The three groups continued to press for their demand despite a dressing down from the Karnataka High Court.

The high court had said it was not correct for groups to protest the unveiling of the statue. It also observed that Tamil Nadu on its part was unveiling the statue of legendary Kannada poet Sarvagna and hence people should not cause any problem.

Pro-Kannada groups said that the unveiling of the statue in Karnataka was one of the demands made by forest brigand Veerappan in exchange for the release of Dr Rajkumar whom he had abducted.

Meanwhile, the chief minister convened a meeting of the police topbrass to discuss security measures. Security has been elaborate around the statue at Ulsoor in Bangalore since the past one week.

The statue of Tamil saint and poet Thiruvalluvar is scheduled to be inaugurated at Bangalore on August 8 18 years after it had been installed.